so, a prospective Ebay buyer from France emails me...

BobaFett72

and asks if its OK to bid on my item ( 1885 CC Morgan) if he pays by Paypal... the auction is set up for USA bidders only, but I'd be willing to make an exception if I could have some opinions on the subject. Ive sent stuff to Canada, but nothing over $20. Can you track and insure a package to France via Usps? I'd feel awful sending something that couldnt be tracked and insured properly.

Thanks for your input

Leo M.

DorkGirl

I don't believe it is possible to track anything overseas or insure it. I have sold and bought coins from Germany, Greece, and the UK and never had a problem, but it is totally your call. Every time I had a buyer I "talked" to them via emails first making sure that they knew I could not insure and that the responsibility was out of my hands. It was always a win/win situation for me.

Russ

<< <i>I don't believe it is possible to track anything overseas or insure it. >>



Beyond that problem is the additional issue of a non-confirmed shipping address. So, even if he receives it, he can still screw you with a chargeback.

Russ, NCNE

OldReading

France sucks.

291fifth

You won't be able to track it, but don't just walk away from foreign buyers. Check his feedback AND how long he has been on eBay. You will have to send the package by Registered Mail.

BobaFett72

lol France does not suck ! My MiMi (grandma) was from France and her husband was French-Canadian... thanks for the input. I will send a polite email to the gentlemen regarding his inquiry. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

Leo

GaCoinGuy

I've sent coins to Germany before, registered, had no problems.

BlindedByEgo

<< <i>I've sent coins to Germany before, registered, had no problems. >>



I have shipped International USPS with no problems, except for fingernails bitten to the quick.

An 85CC should have a sufficient domestic market; do you really need to sell it in France?

TorinoCobra71

Link to Auction?

TC71

GAT

Biggest problem here is Paypal. They always side with the buyer and you can really get the shaft. If he would pay you by bank draft and take responsibility for it's delivery I would say go ahead and sell it. There's a low limit on insurance for international parcel post via the USPS.

PS: Another sure way of getting screwed by Paypal is the requirement for a online signature confirmation for any item valued at $250 and over. There's no way under the sun that you can obtain that from France.

airplanenut

You can get a bit of insurance with registered mail... but tell him to send money with a US drawn check/money order... and don't ship until it clears.

CarlWohlforth

I've done it with no problems. I make it clear that, unless the winner pays an extra $7.50 for registered mail, that he is totally responsible for packages lost in the mail, etc. After reading various threads here I would prefer a bank check drawn in US dollars to PayPal and will ask for that in the future.

route66

ttt

MikeKing

I've bought and sold clocks (not coins) with England, France, Germany and Switzerland without any problems (other than finding out how to do it). With Fedex and UPS you can track, anywhere, but it can be costly--though it might be worth it.
I've sent cash to Germany by registered mail without any issues, even though I knew I was taking a chance since it couldn't be tracked.
I would think on the financially conservative side that registered mail or global priority mail would be safe though not trackable.
I've never had a problem with paypal and find it so easy to use (a lot easier than wiring money to a foreign bank), but after reading all these paypal horror stories, am wondering if I should continue doing it.

route66

you can send insured to France, but there is a slight problem. I sent a Buddy Holly record to a buyer in France and insured it for $900.00. He paid by paypal. After he received it, he emailed me back saying he had to pay $206.00 duty on the record. He was ticked. I emailed back saying I had to protect myself against loss and wouldn't have sent it uninsured. I send $10 to $30 books international and never insure. I never have had a problem. I know I did not send it registered, buty can't remember how. Hope this helps.
steve

pontiacinf

I have never sold outside the US, but I did however send a package to one of our board members who resides in new zealand, and just sent international insured and had no problem. I think the question here for me would be "do I trust overseas buyers using pay-takeback-pal"

19Lyds

Tell the requestor no. Too many things can go wrong especially with a Paypal chargeback which he/she specifically requested. PayPal that is!

johnsim03

Hi Leo:

As an American living in Germany, I have bought and sold hundreds of lots (coins and stamps) to and from N. America
through eBay and other venues. I do not have an APO address. Never had a single item lost. It is probably a good idea
to send via registered mail, for accountability purposes, as there is a limit on insurance to many countries
now using other methods. Just make sure you check on eBay's approved shipment methods for foreign
shipments, and make the customer pay the shipping and handling charge, and you should be okay. If the guy
has decent feedback and history, why limit yourself to one market? I know lots of folks don't ship to Europe -
they won't get any of my business (small as it may be). One critical thing would be making sure the customer knows
that they are responsible for any taxes and customs, on their end. You can avoid PayPal/Chargeback problems by
not accepting it, but will lose potential customers if you do this, because it is so easy to make payments using this
method - I do it all the time. Those who maintain that you can get away with a disclaimer that the buyer is responsible
for lost in the mail items don't know what they are talking about. On eBay, it is the seller's responsibility to deliver a lot, and
not the buyer's. That means a proof of delivery, which probably effectively translates into registered mail, or, USPS Priority mail
with tracking, IMHO.

It is a big (small) world out there.

Kind Regards,
John

MikeKing

John, since you live in Germany, could you tell me how you recieve registered or priority mail from the US? What I mean is, do you have to sign for it or do they just leave it in your mailbox? I didn't think I could track registered mail or priority sent internationally. Is there some way I can do this?

Thanks
Michael

Longacre

I sold to a guy in Australia with no problems.

johnsim03

<< <i>John, since you live in Germany, could you tell me how you recieve registered or priority mail from the US? What I mean is, do you have to sign for it or do they just leave it in your mailbox? I didn't think I could track registered mail or priority sent internationally. Is there some way I can do this?

Thanks
Michael >>



Hi Michael:

Here are my experiences:

On registered mail from the states - I always have to sign for it (or my wife does). On USPS priority with tracking, the postman
annotates on his hand-held before he hands it to me that it reached final destination (my hands) but it does not necessarily require
a signature. On UPS, a signature is required. Same with FEDEX.

As far as I know, all registered mail requires a signature here before delivery. If no one is home, they leave the slip of paper and
you have to go to the post office to pick up. If you don't pick it up after a certain time, it gets sent back.

I just had a guy from the states send me a priority box which was trackable - got here in about five days after it was mailed. He did
the automatic trackable thingy in PayPal.

Any delays on my end are usually caused by our nice (and I mean it) customs folks. They usually spot-check 50-70% of the packages I
get, and this results in a delay of one-two days, tops. Of course, none of the stuff I get (i.e. non-gold, etc.) is a problem with
customs...

Hope this helped, a wee-bit, for Germany anyway. The other EU countries would be more or less the same procedures, I should think.

Kind Regards,
John

BobaFett72

thanks for the great posts guys, its appreciated. Looks like some questions were answered for more than a few inquiring minds.

Regards
Leo

sinin1

USPS has different rules and limits for every country


it is always hard to say NO to a bidder - they maybe the underbidder that bumps up the winner 15%


ask them if they have any contacts in the US that you could send it too if they win (some US coin buyers are Americans overseas or have business trips here all the time anyway)

I remember buying a coin that came from Argentina but I paid a contactfriend in the US